Students in the Animal Studies Graduate Specialization

Marie Carmen Abney is a PhD student in Sociology, with specializations in Animal Studies and Global Urban Studies. She earned a MSc in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University in 2014 and a BA in Psychology and German with a Zoology minor from Ohio Wesleyan University in 2008. Her research interests focus mainly on human perceptions of stray animals and how culture plays into these perceptions—a topic she studied for her masters thesis, conducting research and interviews in Boston, MA and Istanbul, Turkey—as well as a more general interest in the need for better communication between animal welfare groups and with the general public to further animal welfare initiatives. These interests have been nurtured through 7 years of working in the animal shelter field during and after college, and Marie Carmen hopes to continue building on these interests with her education and research at MSU.

Sandy BurnleyDepartment: EnglishEmail: sandyburnley@gmail.com

Sandy Burnley is a PhD student in the English Department specializing in Victorian Literature and Animal Studies. She completed her undergraduate education with a Bachelor’s in Biology and English with a focus on veterinary medicine, and subsequently received a Masters in English Literature. She worked in an environmental shelter for seven years where she studied the behaviors and environments of exotic non-human animals, including reptiles, mammals, birds, and aquatic life. If she is not reading you can find her at the barn riding, grooming, and learning alternative methods of communication. Sandy’s research interests include different portrayals, interactions, laws, and non-human, not-quite human, and “Other” conceptions found in Victorian literature through present day. While her focus is primarily around the non-human animal, her interests have permeated into racial, postcolonial, food, gender, and disability studies. Her goal is to help reconstruct our present ontological perspective of the environment and those who inhabit it, reassemble a less anthropocentric humanity in which verbal language is not the sole channel of communication, and disseminate the ways in which nonhuman animals have a purpose and identity outside of Western Human teleology and ventriloquism.

Meghan Charters received a B.A. in communication and sociology from Western Michigan University in 2005. She is pursuing her doctoral degree in Sociology where she is currently researching the implications of media sensationalism as it relates to the human perception of sharks and shark attacks. She is also interested in marine wildlife tourism, specifically in South Africa, and its influence on local communities and marine ecosystems. Her specializations are in Animal Studies and Environmental Science and Public Policy. Some of her interests include shark activism, marine wildlife conservation, animal welfare, wildlife law/policy, environmental sociology and marine pollution. In her down time she can often be found watching shark documentaries, people watching at the local coffee shop, hiking and camping throughout the country and spending time with her cat, Mako.

Cadi Fung is a geography doctoral student whose academic, personal and professional interests are all centered on creating a verdant, just and peaceful world for humans and all other species. She worked with the now-famous dolphin Winter, the injured dolphin with a prosthetic tail who stars in the hit movie Dolphin Tale.Cadi also worked as an animal advocate at a major Florida animal theme park before re-entering academia to earn a MSc. in geography. During her work at the animal park, Cadi became close friends with a binturong named Jerry, and is delighted to discover that there are binturongs at Potter Park Zoo. Cadi's MSc. posited a new field of geography called Anthropocene Geography that examines the fact that our species now controls the planet and is deciding the fate of planetary ecosystems, ecosystems services, and biodiversity. Cadi is guided by deep ecology, a set of principles that asks us to give up anthropocentrism in favor of recognizing the intrinsic value of all life. She is especially motivated to preserve native ecosystems and native flora and fauna, and is concerned that the spread of unregulated capitalism and consumerism, combined with human population growth, may soon exceed earth's biological carrying capacity. With a dual-degree undergraduate background in aquatic biology and geology and her current focus on humanistic geography, animal geographies, and human-nature interaction, Cadi is eager to work with others who have empathy, admiration, and concern for non-human species.

Seohyun Kim is a doctoral student in the Department of English specializing in postcolonial literature, ecocriticism, and animal studies. She earned her B.A. and M.A. in English from Korea University. Her Master’s thesis on J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians and Foe examines how Coetzee invites the reader to witness the signs of colonized others and animal others. Her interest in Animal-Human relationships is nourished through being vegetarian. She has gone vegetarian since her undergraduate days for ethical and environmental reasons. As a leader of “Philosophy Club in KU Cafeteria” supported by Korea University’s Creative Challenge Program, she campaigned for vegetarian options in the school cafeteria. In her work to raise awareness of animal issues through vegetarianism, she encounters resistance toward human ethical responsibilities toward animals and environment. With the purpose of better communication on animal and environmental issues, she studies the discourses around consuming animal products and the resistance towards animal rights.

Christina Leshko graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ with a dual major in Psychology and English. She served as a Program Coordinator on an NSF ADVANCE grant at Rutgers from 2008 to 2011, working to enhance the recruitment and retention of women faculty in the science, math, and engineering disciplines. She is currently a doctoral student in Sociology, specializing in Animal Studies and Environmental Science and Policy. Her research interests include human attitudes toward domestic animals, behavior assessment, evaluation, animal-assisted therapy models, and inter-species relationships. Christina enjoys kayaking, horseback riding, and exploring Michigan with her partner, Chris, and mixed-breed Rottweiler, Lexy.

Monica List is a doctoral student in the Department of Philosophy and is also in the Ecological Food and Farming Systems Specialization. She received her Veterinary Medicine degree from the National University of Costa Rica in 2000. From 2000 to 2005, she was resident veterinarian at the Zoo Ave Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Alajuela, Costa Rica, where her work primarily focused on the rehabilitating small primates and reintroducing them to the wild. From 2006 to 2010, she worked as Regional Veterinary Programs Manager for the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), implementing WSPA’s companion animal welfare and tertiary animal welfare education programs in Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. She completed her course-work for the Masters in Bioethics Program at the National University of Costa Rica in 2010, and expects to graduate from that program in May of 2011. Her research interests are animal ethics, the ethics of food and agriculture, environmental ethics, and animal welfare.

Seven Mattes is a PhD Candidate specializing in the anthropology of Japan, human-animal studies and disaster at Michigan State University, alongside pursuing a certificate in community engagement. Her doctoral research uses multispecies ethnography to understand the shifting animal welfare landscape in Japan following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Locally, she engages in numerous academic and advocacy projects exploring and aiding the multifaceted relationships people have with the animals in their lives, from the pigs they eat to the cats they love.

Jessica BellRizzolo is a Ph.D. student in Sociology, specializing in Animal Studies, Environmental Science and Policy, and Conservation Criminology. Jessica’s research interests include scientific representations of animal behavior and mind, the impact of visual and discursive representations of wildlife on conservation, the sociopolitical dynamics of conservation initiatives, and conservation crime (e.g. wildlife poaching). Her upcoming publications include a book chapter on wolf reintroduction (in A Fairytale in Question: Historical Interactions Between Humans and Wolves, 2015, White Horse Press), an article on the conservation claims and repercussions of circuses (in press at Society & Animals) and a book chapter on elephant tourism and the ivory trade in Thailand (in Conservation Criminology: The Nexus of Crime, Risk and Natural Resources, 2015, Wiley-Blackwell). She has presented her work at numerous international conferences, including the International Society of Anthrozoology, the American Sociological Association, the International Wolf Symposium, and the Australian Animal Studies Group.

Stacy Rule is a doctoral candidate in American Studies at MSU. She earned her B.A. in English at Binghamton University and graduated from Hofstra University with an M.A. in English and Creative Writing. Her principal research interests are animal studies, ecocriticism, American literature and cultural studies, and she is a member of the Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment.

Mark Suchyta is a doctoral student studying Sociology, specializing in Animal Studies and Environmental Science and Policy. He holds a BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan and an MS in Rural Sociology from Penn State University. His research interests revolve around environmental attitudes, behaviors, and how to create platforms for public participation in environmental decision-making. Much of his previous work has focused on communities experiencing natural gas development. At MSU, he plans to pursue his interest in public attitudes about industrial animal agriculture and the social movements and policies that have come about as a result. When he’s not busy with his studies, he enjoys spending time with his birds.

Aimee Swenson is pursuing her PhD in the Department of Community Sustainability, and is completing the Animal Studies and Ecological Food and Farming Systems Specializations. She is a C.S. Mott PreDoctoral Fellow in Sustainable Agriculture, and is strongly drawn to the political ecology of livestock, particularly at the intersections of human-animal relationships, culture, and land appropriation. Focusing primarily on sheep, she hopes to continue her work with assessing the cultural importance of livestock, and genetic histories of rare breeds in relation to historical political shifts. Aimee has a Masters in Interdisciplinary Studies (Geography & Agricultural History), and a Graduate Gender Certificate from Arizona State. She also has an MFA in Intermedia from Arizona State, is an internationally exhibiting artist and works creatively through performance, social practice, and community engagement - often as a tool for research dissemination. She has an undergraduate degree from Evergreen State College in Geography and Environmental Science with a focus on water resource management. Aimee regularly initiates global community projects surrounding issues with culture, economy, and sheep. You can find those here: www.aimeeleon.com, and here: www.herdbeast.com. She is also a certified sheep shearer, and spends almost all of her off time shearing sheep, goats, and llamas, both locally and internationally. If you are interested in learning more about that, go here: www.flyingewe.com.

Jonathan W. Thurston Howl is a PhD student in the English department. He specializes in animal historicism, looking at how animals are more than just metaphor in literature: they are indicators of contemporary animal-human interaction. He has presented at the International Children's Literature Association and at the John Milton Conference. His work has also appeared in The Philologist. Aside from writing, he has worked at a wolf refuge, volunteered at a tiger haven, and studied early modern horse-riding techniques up close.

Stephen Vrla is a PhD student in Sociology, Teacher Education, Animal Studies, and Environmental Science and Policy. He graduated from Williams College in 2010, where he majored in History. After graduating, he worked as a field instructor at a wilderness therapy program in Utah and as an English, environmental studies, and social studies teacher at a boarding school for disadvantaged students in Texas. Through this work, he became interested in the role schools play in students' moral development, particularly their attitudes toward animals and the environment. At MSU, he plans on pursuing this line of research as well as more general inquiries into humans' relationships with domestic, liminal, and wild animals. Stephen's work is inspired by Hermes, his canine counterpart, and by the stray or injured animals he has been unable to rescue.

Students Who Have Earned Graduate Specializations in Animal Studies

Ashley Couch earned a MS in Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies with a Specialization in Animal Studies in Spring 2013. Her masters thesis examined zoo animal welfare and visitors' satisfaction with animal visibility. She worked in a veterinary toxicology lab at the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health. She is interested in zoo animal welfare which stemmed from volunteer and intern work at the Indianapolis Zoo. Ashley earned a BS in Zoology from MSU in 2007.

Jeanette Eckert graduated with a doctoral degree in Geography, with a specialization in Animal Studies, in 2016. Her work focuses on urban geography and planning. Her previous education at the University of Toledo includes a B.A. and M.A. in Geography, as well as a B.S. in Environmental Science with in ecology. Her research is framed by theories of social and environmental justice, and how the built environment can create barriers or opportunities for urban residents. She focuses primarily on postindustrial Rust Belt cities. She is interested in equitable local food systems and access to healthy food in urban areas. In addition to researching inequality between humans, she also includes nonhuman animals in her focus on ethics. She is interested in human interactions with and attitudes toward animals, especially with regard to animals killed for food or used in entertainment, as well as urban residents’ responses to wildlife and homeless companion animals. Jeanette believes that humane education is an important tool for reducing intentional and unintentional harm to animals, and would like to learn more about the mechanisms by which human attitudes toward animals are shaped and reshaped. Inspired by her mother, she has been helping animals throughout her life and currently shares her home with several rescued animals.

Maggie Fitzpatrick earned an MS in Community, Agriculture, Recreation, and Resource Studies with a Specialization in Animal Studies. Her research interest is the return of small livestock, mainly chicken, to backyards and urban areas through the urban agriculture movement. She earned a BS in Biology with a Concentration in Environmental Studies from John Carroll University, a small Jesuit university on the Eastside of Cleveland. Through environmental studies, she found an interest in sustainable food and agriculture and went on to complete two farm internships, one in South Western Vermont and one in Dayton, Ohio where she gained cultivation skills and experience as an educator but began to reflect on previous distance from food production as an urban dweller and how my life can be enriched through participation in food cultivation. She is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.

Ryan Gunderson earned a PhD in Sociology with Specializations in Animal Studies and Environmental Science & Policy in May 2014, and he is currently a fixed-term Assistant Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University. In Fall 2015, he will begin a tenure-track assistant professor position at Miami University in Ohio, where he will be teaching animal studies courses for the social justice major in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology. His dissertation excavated social-ecological insights from the Frankfurt School to address theoretical issues in environmental sociology and animal studies. He received his MA at the University of Wyoming in 2011, where he researched the social, environmental, and animal welfare consequences of intensive, mechanized, large-scale livestock production from a Marxist perspective. His research interests broadly include environmental sociology, social theory, animal studies, and political economy. Ryan has published in Critical Sociology, Organization & Environment, Sociologia Ruralis, Telos, and other journals.

Maria Iliopoulou earned a PhD in Community Sustainability with a Specialization in Animal Studies in May 2014. Her areas of interests include finding ways to intervene in the social problem of dogfighting, and her dissertation focused on the link between children's perceptions of dogfighting and their level of canine care and welfare knowledge. Maria has also earned her DVM from the MSU School of Veterinary Medicine.

Christopher Jordan earned a PhD in Fishieries and Wildlife with a Specialization in Animal Studies, and he is currently a postdoctoral scholar at Panthera. His dissertation was on the social networks formed through traditional forest ecosystem knowledge sharing and use along the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. In particular, he explored the types of network configurations that encourage increased forest conservation and negative attitudes toward deforestation and forest degradation. His work has a large component on forest wildlife and he is a member of the IUCN Tapir Specialist Group. Christopher earned a BA in Spanish and Latin American Studies and a BS. in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Jennifer Rebecca Kelly earned a PhD in Sociology with Specializations in Animal Studies and Environmental Science & Policy in May 2015, and she is currently a fixed-term Assistant Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University. She studies environmental sociology focusing on the relationship that humans have with the living world. With an interdisciplinary background her scholarship and views on the nature society divide have embraced a holistic approach. As such, her interests have taken on an experiential dimension, that is, where nature and wildlife interface most vividly with humans. This is revealed in a broad range of areas from an individual’s encounter with the portrait of a wild animal, to exploring the role of experiential education that is centered on the student immersion into a natural environment, to the hunting of wildlife, a relationship that has been portrayed both as an act of love and kill.

Rachel Kelly earned an MA in Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies with a Specialization in Animal Studies. Her focal area is community food and agriculture. She completed her BS in agricultural science with a specialization in animal science at Truman State University. Rachel is interested in various issues surrounding the feeding of species-appropriate diets (bones and raw food diets) to companion animals. She recently completed a summer internship at Sanctuary And Safe Haven for Animals (SASHA), a farm sanctuary in Manchester, MI, for unwanted and/or neglected farm and companion animals, and now volunteers there once a week. Rachel lives with her great dane, Cody.

Melissa Liszewski earned an MS in Animal Science with a Specialization in Animal Studies. She was a member of the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group. Her work also included completing an additional graduate specialization in International Development from The Center for Advanced Study of International Development (CASID). She was recently awarded a Marshall Plan Foundation Scholarship to complete coursework and research in Vienna, Austria, where she evaluated a federally funded animal welfare education program. Melissa earned a BS in Animal Science with Specializations in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from MSU in 2008. In 2006, she traveled to SE Brazil for work on an undergraduate project aimed at improving the welfare of working equines. Since this experience she has maintained a strong passion and commitment to finding ways to improve the lives of animals in lesser developed areas of the world, and subsequently the lives of the people depending on them as well. Melissa's other research interests include human-animal relationships and using participatory, livelihood, and community-based approaches to address animal welfare issues in developing countries.

Samantha Noll graduated Spring 2016 with a PhD in philosophy with a focus in environmental philosophy, animal metaphysics, and philosophy of agriculture. She is also pursued the gender, justice, and environmental change (GJEC) specialization in addition to the animal studies specialization. She received her bachelor’s degree from West Chester University in philosophy with minors in anthropology and ethnic studies. Her research interests include epistemology and specifically how we come to know nonhuman others and how nonhuman others are knowers in an attempt to undermine logics of domination that we use to justify the inhumane use of animals. Her work also focuses on the ethics of agriculture and food systems. She was active in community supported agriculture projects in Pennsylvania, New York, and Michigan.

Kelly O'Brien Department: Social WorkEmail: kellylynnob@gmail.com

Kelly O'Brien earned an MSW with a Specialization in Animal Studies from MSU in May 2014 and a Master's in Sociology in 2017. She received her B.A. in Pyschology from MSU in 2006. After finishing her undergraduate studies, she became a certified instructor through the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International (PATH). After managing and training horses at a PATH Premier Accredited Center in Nashville for four years, she reentered MSU to pursue a Masters in Social Work. Kelly's principal research interest is the use and welfare of equines in a therapeutic setting. She currently runs an equine-facilitated mental health program.

Amy Shelle received her Master's in Social Work, with a specialization in Animal Studies, in 2016. She received her associates’ degree in 1996 and her B.S. degree in Animal Science in 1999, both from MSU. During that time she was a member of the Animal Behavior and Welfare Group. The research she completed then consisted of developing non-invasive techniques to monitor stress in animals. Horses, pigs, cows, mink, snow leopards and tigers were her species of interest. She was also involved with many research projects that were carried out in the Animal Behavior lab at and thus she has co-authored many papers. Currently she would like to research and help promote animal assisted therapy with individuals dealing with PTSD and other types of trauma.

Molly Tamulevich earned an MS in Community Sustainability with a Specialization in Animal Studies in December 2014 and is now a program consultant at the Animals & Society Institute. Her masters thesis is on the social status that people receive from their companion animals and how purchasing or adopting an animal based on perceived social value can lead to pet overpopulation and violence. Molly earned a BA in Anthropology with a Minor in Biology from Bryn Mawr College in 2007. Her interests include pit bull welfare, vegan cooking, volunteering for a variety of animal welfare organizations and spending time with her guinea pigs, Jambi and Paul.

Ian Werkheiser earned his PhD in philosophy at Michigan State University in 2015 with specializations in Animal Studies as well as Environmental Philosophy and Ethics. He is now an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His research interests include environmental ethics, environmental and food justice, food sovereignty, and social epistemology. His areas of specialization include environmental philosophy, social epistemology, and social and political philosophy, ethics and the philosophy of science. His dissertation focused on the capabilities approach and food sovereignty, and argued that community epistemic capacity is a necessary requirement of meaningful political participation, particularly in issues around food and environmental justice.

Cameron Thomas Whitley graduated May 5, 2017 with a doctorate in Sociology and Specializations in Animal Studies, Environmental Science & Policy and Gender, Justice and Environmental Change. Cam grew up in Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2005 with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Ethnic Studies. Between graduating in 2005 and entering MSU in the fall of 2009, Cameron spent time engaged in HIV/AIDS prevention and education in the Virgin Islands and working as a financial officer in New York City. Cameron’s past research has focused largely on the intersections of sex, gender and sexuality; however his current interests are in environmental sociology, specifically regarding social attitudes around climate change, water quality and conservation, social movements and the social and political positioning of animals for corporate gain. When not engaged in research, Cameron enjoys being outdoors, photography, daily yoga, exploratory creative writing, social activism, chai tea lattes, and traveling around the world with his wife. He misses his yorkie, Pal.